The straw that broke the camels back – The reason why I have decided to stop playing
Having explained my reasons to our guild, they have persuaded me to create a post in the forum, not for me to vent my frustrations, nor to dissuade other players, but purely for the developers and game designers to understand the sentiment of many of the players.
Several players have whispered me recently with their desire to quit the game and I have tried to convince them to remain, however I myself have reached my breaking point with the introduction of the new Weekly Challenge.
For me, the beginning of the end started with the introduction of the new islands. This was such a welcome relief as having spent 2.5 years evolving my island, I had finally run out of space after finally achieving my aim of having positive production of every item possible in the game. However the new islands were only available for gems which I felt was an ill-advised decision. It was the start of the feeling that the developers are now only looking to see how much money they can squeeze out of loyal players.
The introduction of the MCC campaign was also greatly welcomed, and had that been the only new development that looked to drain you of resources, then it was manageable.
Recently though, the anniversary event was introduced, with the sole purpose of getting players to donate resources, with those who did not have enough having the option to buy more balloons for gems or cash in order to get the new buildings being offered.
The Halloween event followed, with several new items that required pumpkins to buy. The amount of pumpkins required this year was almost double the pumpkins required last year, though players could buy more for gems or cash.
The upcoming Christmas event is also doubling the amount of presents required with the new Christmas Market and all of the upgrades without any extra way of obtaining the presents. However, of course we can all get extra presents using gems or real cash.
The problem I have had recently is that I have had to start demolishing several of my level 6 buildings to make way for the new buildings (I had already replaced all regular buildings with improved buildings), which has had an adverse effect on my production. This in itself would not be a game changer as part of the skill is balancing available space to maximise the game style that you play.
However the new Weekly Challenges appear to be designed to simply strip you of further resources needlessly. Again this is a choice that I chose not to participate in, once it was apparent that I had to complete up to 3 Adventures/Scenarios that either I don’t have and am unable to get without luck with loot drops, or no desire to do. Though having to needlessly sacrifice large amounts of resources and troops meant that I don’t believe anyone will be doing these challenges after a couple of weeks.
I have really enjoyed doing the MCC adventures and have completed 15 chains, however the problem I now have is that there is no point in doing any more. The Epic Forge uses up so much Coal, that the 315,000 I produce daily is not enough. I have 6 industrial Coal mines along with numerous recyclers and coking plants, all constantly buffed along with permanent mining guides. There is no more space to build any further coal production buildings without decimating my other production chains further, so there is no reward for completing the campaign as the upgrades will put my coal production under more strain.
BlueByte have chosen to go down the route that every new feature introduced requires huge sacrifice or resources to complete them. Since the only way to expand the islands area is through gems or cash, I feel I am at an impasse.
My production has been reduced due to the fact I have had to demolish buildings as I have run out of space. I don’t feel I am able to change the way I have evolved in playing after 2.5 years of careful planning and hard work and clearly the game is heading in a direction that will require more and more resources being sacrificed or real money being spent.
I fully understand that all of these are optional and I do not have to do them if I don’t want to. My problem is that if I choose not to do the Weekly Challenges because the resource sacrifice is ridiculous and the adventures which have to be done are unobtainable and unsuited to how I wish to play, and I have no motivation to do any more MCC chains as it is not possible for me to be able to produce any more coal, then what is my motivation to keep playing.
It takes hours each day to keep my production going with constant refilling of mines that are now not adequate to provide the production levels required. The fun has vanished from the game and everything now feels like a chore just to stand still, not to mention the difficulty with constant freezing and bugs.
New features are putting a larger strain on production, resources and time, with little or no sign that the game is going to evolve in a way that takes the clients playing styles into consideration.
I fully understand that this is my choice and my decision, but having spoken to many players before they quit, and many others that are planning to quit, I feel that the developers need to understand that a lot of loyal regular players feel that they are not taken into consideration when the game is evolving down the route where if you don’t pay to keep up then you are just remaining stagnant.
I have made genuine friends through playing and it will be keeping in touch with them outside the game. I have put my whole island to sleep and should the game return to its old values, myself and other players leaving after many years, may well return.
I wish everyone all the best in this game and will never forget the enjoyment and friendships that I have been lucky enough to experience.
Cheers
Bodds
